


A Shadow on Snow

by HoneyBerryChi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Bad Decisions, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fantasizing, Nudity, Smut, adding tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-01 00:50:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18325346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyBerryChi/pseuds/HoneyBerryChi
Summary: As a scientist of the First Order you've been assigned to a mission on a seemingly insignificant icy moon. Though the mission details have yet to be revealed to you and your team, it must be something important because what other reason could there be for the General to be taken away from his fleet?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this starts off a little slow. I promise it'll pick up :)
> 
> Additional Note: I fell off the face of the planet for a while there. I lost someone I loved dearly and have been having a hard time dealing with it. This fic is on hiatus. I enjoyed writing it but I'm having a hard time disconnecting it from real life. I hope to pick it up again and continue. I'm sorry about this.

30 cycles. You would only be gone for 30 cycles. Looking at it like that didn’t seem so bad. 30 cycles on the Supremacy could pass in an instant, but the Supremacy was home and that was probably the main reason why. Life on the ship was like a well-oiled machine. Everything and everyone kept to a specific schedule, you had your time to work and relax, to socialise or withdraw if you felt like you needed to. You were dreading leaving.

A handful of the First Order’s scientists would accompany General Hux and a group of troopers to a small frozen moon, circling a desolate planet in an almost forgotten part of the outer rim. Neither you or any of the other scientists had been told the exact manner of the mission but there were a few speculations. The most popular theory was that you’d be uncovering an ancient Jedi temple. Other theories revolved around finding holocrons or datacrons that might hold any secrets of the Force. Supreme Leader Ren had been taking his role more seriously than anyone had expected. The more knowledge he gained of the Force, the stronger he would become, in turn strengthening the First Order. It was agreed that it was unlikely that you’d all be sent on just a regular research expedition, especially since it seemed like this moon was of no importance to anyone if it wasn’t hiding mysteries of the Force.

Together, you and the rest of the research team had packed all the equipment you’d need for the next 30 cycles and loaded it all onto the shuttle that would be taking you. Back in your quarters you packed up the essentials and changed into your cold weather uniform, knowing the others would be doing the same. The Supremacy’s temperature was well regulated, maybe a little on the chilly side, but after a short time in your uniform it wasn’t enough to keep you from being uncomfortably warm.

There was one last thing you needed before you left. Science nerd and tech geek, it had been an impulse buy at the time, but now you finally had a use for it. From the back of your wardrobe you retrieved a neatly folded blanket and placed it in your luggage before sealing it.  Your friends had told you that you’d regret the purchase. They weren’t scientists though. They weren’t even remotely interested in the latest tech. You’d tried to convince them it was a good investment, describing it as a regular blanket that was “interwoven with _actual_ science to make you _super_ toasty!” They’d all agreed they were warm enough with their standard blankets and you refused to admit that the blanket was definitely too hot to sleep with on the Supremacy. You stashed it away so you wouldn’t feel the guilt of having paid so much for an item that was never going to be used.

_‘Who’s laughing now?!’_ You thought to yourself as you stomped through the corridors of the ship. It wasn’t an angry stomp; your boots were just heavier than you’d expected them to be. You weren’t the only one experiencing an overly stompy pair of boots. A colleague appeared from his quarters as you passed and the two of you made your way awkwardly to the shuttle trying to not to acknowledge how foolish you both felt.

There was little dignity to be had in these uniforms. Sure, they looked good, that was always pretty high on the First Order’s priorities, but it was a struggle to look natural in your current gear. After you and the other scientists had settled into the shuttle, you hoped to see the troopers struggling to get used to their armour. Your hopes were shattered the moment you saw them. The snowtroopers wore their armour like a second skin. Of course they did. They would have had to have been through extensive training. At least, you reassured yourself, Hux would look foolish.

The General spent most of his time on the ships of the First Order. He’d been in cold conditions before, Starkiller Base was an ice planet too, but you could get by with a thicker coat at most. You didn’t have anything against the General, you’d never had a chance to even be in the same room as the man, but there was no harm in wanting to see someone so notoriously uptight about his appearance look a _little_ undignified.

The shuttle was notified that General Hux would soon be arriving. Everyone got to their feet as to not be rude, and you prepared yourself to suppress your imminent giggles.

You were not prepared. You hadn’t expected this at all. The General boarded and walked past you wearing his usual uniform. No non-slippy soled boots, no extra-insulated uniform, just his usual General uniform and an extra snarly snarl. You were beginning to question if he was actually joining the rest of you on the mission until he disappeared into the cockpit, probably to scowl some more, and you were informed the shuttle would be departing.

The journey was long. The Shuttle departed from the Supremacy, and made its way to a dreadnought, docking for a while as it went into hyperdrive to bring you closer to your destination. Thankful for the rest, you joined everyone in a leg stretch and loo break as the General disappeared to deal with some general Generalish matters.

It was all too soon before you were being herded back onto the shuttle, leaving the dreadnought that had taken you so far. You settled into your barely comfortable chair and closed your eyes hoping to rest them a little. The ship was quiet. It seemed like most of the others on board had the same idea. Those that weren’t trying to snooze were sitting quietly, distracting themselves with devices to avoid boredom. There were a few whispers here and there. Overall, it was a quiet ride.

The sound of the door to the cockpit opening sliced through the silence. You jumped. Cracking your eyes open slightly, you looked around both for the cause of the noise, and to see if anyone had noticed that you’d been startled. A pair of piercing eyes the colour of sea glass were the only ones looking in your direction, beneath them a set of smirking lips.

You had a decision to make and in the split second you were given to make it, you chose to pretend you were sleeping. You weren’t sure if the General was able to tell that your eyes were open the slightest bit, but you knew it wasn’t unheard of for some people to sleep like that, and in any case, people could startle in their sleep and not wake.

It was taking an eternity for the General to pass you. Why had you decided to pretend to sleep? His eyes were still on you. There was no way he didn’t know you were faking. An embarrassed smile was threatening to invade your face but you fought it back through sheer willpower. _Just hurry the kriff up!_ Eventually General Hux disappeared into the back of the shuttle and you were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

You turned to the side and brought your knees up so you could rest your elbows on them. Hux would probably be back at some point and you were hoping he’d think you’d shifted in your sleep to get more comfortable, that is, if he even noticed at all. You buried your face in your arms and let your eyes rest again.

Just as you’d anticipated, the General emerged from the back of the shuttle and made his way back to the cockpit. Peeking over your forearms you noticed he’d changed his uniform. It was very similar to yours, the main differences being the rank insignias, a change in colour, and annoyingly, he wore it without any trace of clumsy awkwardness like you and your peers did. Despite the uniforms being specifically tailored to each person, the General’s cold-weather gear fit him so perfectly. The man was made for uniforms.

You’d never been so close to the General, he never visited the science team, there was a significant chain of superiors between the two of you. In the next 30 cycles, you’d no doubt get to see him enough to commit his face to memory, but right now you couldn’t help but sneak in a quick look. It’s not like you’d see much anyway. By now he was almost at the cockpit with his back toward you. As far as he was aware, you were asleep.

Your eyes travelled up to his head. Even in the synthetic light, his hair was gorgeous, shimmering with copper. Paired with his sea glass eyes, the General had a very distinct look about him, you just wished you’d actually peeked at the rest of his face earlier, but his eyes had had just been so magnetic. Hopefully he didn’t have a weird face so that all his features tied in nicely with each other. No. Wait. Hopefully he _did_ have a weird face because it wouldn’t be fair for him to have two stunning features _and_ be attractive!

The cockpit opened. You wouldn’t be seeing the General again until you landed which you knew was for the best since you were supposed to be pretending to sleep. There was a chance he may have known you were faking earlier, you didn’t really want to think about that, but there was no way he could know you’d been blatantly looking at him as he walked by this time.

It happened so fast. At least, it seemed that way. As the door closed behind General Hux, he turned. Your eyes locked. He definitely knew you were awake now. Or did he? You slammed your eyelids closed. Maybe there was a chance he’d be fooled into thinking you were asleep, just like earlier… except earlier seemed far more believable. Yeah, you were obviously awake and he clearly knew you were faking.

_Aw kriff._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally reaching your destination your subconscious feels like a few bad decisions are overdue.

During the last leg of the journey you managed to get a little shut-eye and had a quick bite to eat. You were particularly thankful for this once the shuttle had landed and you had all disembarked. Your mission was in the middle of nowhere. The only noteworthy change in scenery was a crag in the distance and even that was covered in snow. As desolate as your surroundings were, there was something else that made your heart sink and your stomach churn. There was no base.

There was a reason you’d landed in the early hours of sunlight; the team had to assemble the research station yourselves. You had to fight back the audible groan that was attempting to force its way out of you at the thought of all the work you had ahead of you.

This wasn’t the first time in your career that you’d had to assemble your own base of operations but there was so much work ahead of you. Clearing snow, making the ground stable, retrieving everything from the shuttle, and assembling an entire station. You just didn’t have the energy for it after your life-sapping short nap. At least your mission would be rewarding.

General Hux trudged through the snow to the front of the group, waving an arm in order to herd you into formation. There was no trace of the smirk you’d seen earlier, in fact, studying his face it seemed like he was incapable of anything resembling a smile.

“Congratulations,” General Hux started, his voice sounding as fed up as he looked. “You’ve been chosen at random to partake in this waste of time and resources disguised as an assignment. The goal is to study the weather and climate for this moon that neither the First Order, Republic, nor anyone with any sense want anything to do with. You’ll also be studying the wildlife… on this lifeless and uninhabited hunk of ice. An important undertaking.”

The General raised a thickly gloved hand to his forehead and sighed heavily. Now it was obvious what was going on. Despite Supreme Leader Ren taking his position increasingly more seriously, he still held great disdain for the General. He recognised that the General was useful but regularly made sure General Hux was aware of his feelings towards him. This though… this had to take the cake. This was just petty.

“Well, you know what needs to be done.” The General said, composing himself. “Many hands make light work. Get to it.”

You noticed a slight eyeroll from the General as he disappeared back into the shuttle. The group turned to each other. Any spark of excitement had vanished from the crowd. What an enormous let down. Each of you had important work you could be doing back on the Supremacy, and the troopers that had accompanied you would have been better off absolutely anywhere else, not guarding the research team from beasts that didn’t exist.

Without any trouble the group chose tasks and got on with it. Not wanting to destroy your back, you decided against clearing the snow, instead you chose to help retrieve everything from the shuttle’s storage. You quickly noticed that you could get away with carrying the lighter items, you could even avoid more trips in and out of the shuttle with an _‘oh, no, you first’_ pretending to be polite while standing back and keeping out of their way.

When everything was off the shuttle you found more ways to minimise your efforts. You were still helping. You rationalised it thinking that if you overexerted yourself now, you wouldn’t be any use later. You _‘organised’_ the equipment to make building the base more efficient. You double and triple checked to make sure everything was off the shuttle. You even made sure you had a partner during some of your _‘tasks’_ so that it didn’t look like you were slacking. Foolproof procrastination.

General Hux emerged from the shuttle with a sneer. A signature look of his, you decided. As you pretended to fumble with some materials, you watched the General turn to the pilots, dismiss them, and joined the group in assembling the base as the shuttle began to depart. It seemed as though no one had expected the General would help and work briefly stopped leaving the ginger-haired man being the only one doing anything.

“Uhh… General?” A voice asked from the other side of the structure.

“We’re behind schedule.” General Hux replied coldly, not taking even a moment’s break from the work he was doing. “It seems as though one or more of you have been shirking your responsibilities. I’ve come to pick up the slack.”

Guilt began to bite at your insides. You knew what you were doing was wrong but you didn’t want to wreck yourself and you had been so positive you could get away with it. Sure, you were smart, but damn you could make some bad decisions. The General hadn’t called you out specifically, he probably wasn’t aware that it had been you, but you weren’t going to risk it and started to pull your weight.

The camp was finally built just in time for the sun’s light to stop shining. Everyone grabbed their belongings from next to where the shuttle had been and claimed their bunks without much fuss. You’d be sleeping in the same place as the other scientists in a room that adjoined the main living area. The troopers were housed in an identical room connected to the same common area, with General Hux’s private quarters wedged in between.

The atmosphere was tense as everyone sat down for dinner that night. Scientists at one table, troopers at the other. The General was nowhere to be seen but it seemed safe to assume he’d taken his meal to his room. You felt like it was better to keep a low profile around him and had spent the evening pretending to look busy in your quarters.

“This is bullshit!” Said Vemmer, the colleague you’d walked with to the shuttle with back on the Supremacy.

“I didn’t waste my time studying my arse off at the academy, becoming one of the best the First Order has to offer, just to be dumped on some ice cube in the middle of nowhere!” Replied Moz. He was the kind of guy who claimed to be an arsehole before his morning caff, but whose attitude never changed even after it had been drunk.

“This isn’t even remotely close to my field of study!” Hissed Noni, a woman who tended to take the mother role when working with others, and owner of the bunk below yours.

“It’s not so bad for them,” You whispered, pointing a thumb behind you to the trooper table. “This is just a holiday for them! A cold, boring, uneventful holiday.”

You weren’t familiar with the two at the other end of the table but they were probably the unluckiest of all of you. They’d both only arrived on the Supremacy before the random selection had been made. Jayn had only just graduated from the academy and expressed that she was secretly a little relieved to be sent on a dummy mission because she was worried about messing up. Rakk, the oldest of the group had been transferred from another ship in the fleet and couldn’t have been more disappointed in his current situation.

The more the conversation progressed the more the group began to resent both the General and the troopers. Even so far away from the Supremacy, no one had the guts to blame the Supreme Leader for the situation you found yourselves in. If that resentment continued after the expedition was over there was a chance he would find out and no one wanted to face his punishments. You’d all been caught in the crossfire and the General had been the real target.

General Hux didn’t even dare show his face, a sign that you all agreed made him even more guilty. It wasn’t just his own time that he wasting because of this feud with the Supreme Leader, and he didn’t even have the guts to apologise for dragging everyone into this situation.

For some reason it was the trooper’s fault too. Sort of. Not really, but they were going to have the easiest 30 cycles ahead of them and they were in range of your resentment. Factions were being formed. Scientist verses soldiers. You gave them the subtlest evil-eye as you all retired for the night. There would be plenty of time to increase the severity of your glare as the days went on.

 

You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty upon looking at the blanket you’d brought with you the next morning. Crumpled in a small pile at the end of your bunk, it had been too warm and you’d kicked it off during the night. The whole structure’s temperature was well regulated and you had no need for it. It looked like it really was just a waste of money after all.

You slid down from your bunk on your belly, slipped your slippers on, and shuffled off in the direction of the kitchen to grab yourself a caff. There was a list of names on the screen embedded into the wall used for leaving notes to each other. Whatever it was it could wait until after you started filling your belly with warm liquid.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Noni greeted you as you sat next to her at the scientist-claimed table. You hummed a tired greeting and snuggled yourself into her side. “Sorry, hun, I would’ve tried to wake you so you could be higher on the list, but you looked like you’d be impossible to wake.”

You peeled yourself away from Noni and stared at her with confusion. Before she could speak, you were up and headed back to the sleeping quarters to check out the list properly. You crumpled against the wall at the sight of it. It was the order that everyone would take their turn showering, and by the looks of it only one of the six of you had taken a turn.

You added your name to the list despite it feeling superfluous and returned to Noni’s side. Looking over at the side of the room that the troopers were inhabiting, you were thankful that their quarters had a shower as well so you didn’t have to share. Assessing them, it looked like they were in the same situation. Two of them had showered. It didn’t seem like there was any point in trying to form an alliance with them just so you could shower sooner. You’d just have to wait.

It was then that you realised the door to the General’s quarters was open. He wasn’t visible from the angle you were in. Casually you got up and walked past the door looking in as subtly as you could. No General in sight, however, you did notice the door to his refresher was open. You moved to the kitchen to dispose of your caff so it looked like you weren’t just snooping and moved back to the table.

“The General…?” You asked, not bothering to finish the sentence. Shrugs and shaking heads answered your question. No one was sure where he was at that moment. Another bad decision was threatening to consume you.

In and out. Quickest shower in the history of the First Order… maybe even the Empire before it. If the General didn’t catch you, none of the other members of the science team would rat you out. It took you a worryingly short amount of time to decide to go for it.

You grabbed your towel and uniform and snuck into the General’s room as quickly and quietly as you could. You figured closing the door to his room would help deter any suspicion, or at the very least it would be a hurdle he’d have to get through if he came back, but you were confident you’d be in and out before he came back from wherever he was.

Undressed, you stepped into the steaming warmth of the shower. So many hours spent on the shuttle, then working all day on building the station, bathing felt so overdue. You spotted a few bottles. Of course Hux had brought his own special toiletries instead of the generic crap you’d been supplied. You’d come this far, why stop now?

You cracked the lid of the shampoo. You couldn’t place the scent… it was sweet… maybe fruity… whatever it was, it was delicious. Is this what the General smelt like? You lathered it through your hair, rinsed, and opened the conditioner. The same aroma filled the air. _‘Toffee Berry’_ read the label. Your nose crinkled as your grinned at the unexpected cuteness of the General’s choice. You’d half expected he’d reek of that sharp alcohol smell from an overuse of cheap hair gel.

Once you’d quickly indulged in his similar smelling body wash, you rinsed off and remembered this was a stealth mission. In and out as fast as possible. You shut the water off, stepped out of the shower and grabbed your towel. The rustling noise of the towel around your ears, bent over as you dried your hair, almost drowned out the sound completely, but you heard it.

The very distinct sound of the door opening caught you off guard. You hadn’t actually planned for what you would do if you failed to get out in time. Your first instinct was to stand completely still, as though his vision was based on movement.

That definitely wasn’t the case.

“Out!” The General commanded. Your body snapped upright in an instant and you expertly drew your towel around yourself.

“… I’m naked.” You stated. It was a pretty good excuse, you just hoped he hadn’t seen too much from where he was standing.

The expression on the General’s face looked as though he couldn’t quite understand what was happening. Anger and confusion. How could someone have the audacity to invade his private quarters?

General Hux stormed out of the refresher closing the door behind him. You tried to comfort yourself with the fact that you had a little privacy while you got dressed.

There was no way this was going to unpunished.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Hux can't find you, he can't punish you.

General Hux was no longer in his quarters when you emerged from the refresher. You’d been so sure he’d be waiting for you to get dressed so he could yell at you. Maybe this was a good sign. Maybe it was worse than you could have imagined. It was time to bail.

It seemed as though everyone’s eyes were on you as you darted from the General’s quarters to your own. There was no doubt they’d heard him yell, but you just didn’t understand why he was no longer around to yell some more. You’d gambled and lost. Hiding in your bunk felt like the best course of action for now.

“I don’t know what you expected,” said Noni, a face full of pity. Each of your colleagues stood around you bunk, in which you’d cocooned yourself with your blanket.

“To be in and out before he could find out.” You groaned. “I was hoping he wouldn’t be back so soon!”

“He was only in the lab,” said Vemmer. “He’s been checking everything’s working and set up.”

“Then why didn’t you say that when I asked where he was?” You asked.

“Mouth was full.” He was so nonchalant. When you gave him a look that said _‘yeah… so??’_ he shrugged, “You were off before I could say anything.”

Everyone left you to lie in your regret. When it looked like you weren’t going to be out before you had to start work, Noni brought you in a muffin so you wouldn’t go hungry. You picked at it but couldn’t bring yourself to eat it. You weren’t sure how you were going to pull it off, but you vowed to at least make it through the day without seeing the General. Afterall, if he couldn’t find you, you couldn’t get punished.

The first hurdle occurred as work began. Reluctantly peeling yourself away from your bunk, you joined your coworkers and headed towards the lab. You were just about to turn the corner, entering behind the others when you saw him, the red-headed man you were avoiding, and luckily, he was facing in the opposite direction. You twirled back in the direction you’d come and moved as swiftly as you could back to your quarters.

“Where’s L/N?” Asked a feint voice from behind you. It was distinctly Huxish.

Your quarters seemed too obvious of a hiding place once you’d reached it but it was too late to turn back. You continued through the back and into the refresher looking for a better hiding solution. The bottom of the shower was opaque while the top was heavily frosted. It was going to have to do.

Barely a moment had passed after you’d closed the shower door when you heard the General call your name again. ‘Angrily shout’ may have been a better description. You ducked, squatting so you were hopefully hidden, and waited.

A small voice inside of you told you this was ridiculous. If you came out now and just acted like an adult your punishment was bound to be less severe than if the General had to waste his time with your nonsense. Unfortunately, it was such a small voice that it was easy for you to suppress it. You clenched your eyes shut and waited.

You heard the _swoosh_ of the refresher door opening, but that wasn’t all you heard. Your heartbeat thundered in your ears. This was such a mistake, you just didn’t want to admit it, praying for the door to finally shut again with General Hux on the other side.

After the longest few seconds of your life, the door closed once again. You didn’t dare move. What if it was a trap and he was waiting for you to get up? What if he’d silently moved over to the shower as and looming over you, looking at you through the translucent part of the shower door? You didn’t have the guts to look up. This must have been how the protagonists in every horror holofilm you’d seen had felt when they were being hunted down.

You waited.

When your legs started cramping you decided it was time to get out of the shower. The General definitely wasn’t in the refresher anymore, neither was he in your quarters. It was tempting to hide away in your bunk but a brief moment of reason washed over you. You decided to sneak into the lab and join the others. While the work you’d been sent here to do was pointless, it still needed to be done and it would be slack to leave up to the others.

There was no Hux in the common area. There was no Hux on the way to the lab. When you peeked into the lab and didn’t spot a Hux there either, you felt safe enough to slink in and get some work done.

“He’s going to find you eventually,” Vemmer assured you.

“Not if I can help it,” you said. “I just need enough time to come up with a plan.”

“I’m not gonna cover for you.” Said Moz. He was never one for antics. There was no doubt he’d rat you out. The others actually liked you, or didn’t know you well enough to have really formed an opinion yet.

“I’ll let you have tomorrows breakfast muffin.” You told him. He shook his head. He needed a higher price. “All my muffins this week? …The entire time we’re here?”

“Done.” Moz reached his hand out to seal the deal.

Before you could take it, the door opened. Running on instinct, you ducked. You were right to do so as the General scanned the room from the doorway and left.

“This has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve done in my whole life.” You said getting up from your hiding spot.

“You’re still young.” Rakk’s voice sounded from the other side of the lab. “You’ve got plenty of time to top this.”

Rakk shot you a smile. It was weirdly comforting. The idea that you would do something worse than this somewhere down the line, it made you feel like you still had a future, that General Hux wasn’t going to just straight up murder you when he found you. Strangely reassuring.

Your nerves were getting to you and you were too distracted to work. The constant fear of the General popping his head in to catch you had your mind too busy to get anything done. Maybe a little fresh air might help.

There wasn’t a surprise Hux outside the lab ready to ambush you. That was a good sign. You inched your way through the structure, eyeing each room before you passed it. The General must have been in his quarters.

Despite the base being well lit, the snow was blindingly bright as you stepped outside. The frozen wind was bracing and refreshing against your cheeks. You closed your eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. You’d been tightly wound all day but finally felt like you could relax a little.

“L/N!” Roared the General.

Your eyes shot open. _Kriff, kriff, kriff!_ Your body turned before your mind could catch up and you ran back inside. Surely this was only going to make things worse but your head wasn’t in control anymore.

“Get back here, L/N!” General Hux shouted from the entrance. By then you’d made it half way through the base.

You didn’t have a plan. If you kept running, you’d hit the end of the base and be cornered. You needed a plan.

The first thing that came to mind was the shower. It had worked before. You looked behind yourself as you ran toward your quarters. The General wasn’t in sight. You had assumed you’d be able to hear his boots pounding against the floor, matching yours, but they weren’t making a sound. He had to be walking. Maybe that was scarier. Level headed and furious… yeah, that was terrifying.

You made it to the shower. Squatting down and closing the door you finally realised that maybe you should have gone for the trooper’s shower. Perhaps he’d be even more thrown off if you hid in his shower. No one would expect you’d go back to the scene of the crime. You curled into a ball, hands covering your head and prayed he wouldn’t find you, or at the very least, go a little easier on you once he saw that you’d realise you’d messed up.

The refresher door opened again. Your eyes clamped shut. You heard the shower door open. For the second time that day, you stayed perfectly still since that had clearly worked so well this morning. The General mumbled a curse under his breath and did something you should have expected.

Water rained down on you. It was cold and alarming. You pushed past the General to escape the shower’s line of fire and collapsed on the ground. There was no point in trying to run. You were soggy and cold and you were in so much trouble.

“I wasn’t aware they let children graduate the academy.” Said the General, gripping the back of your uniform and pulling you up to your knees while shaking the arm that had become wet when turning on the shower. “Are you quite done?”

You absolutely were. No more bad decisions. No more rule breaking for the rest of your career. Stars, you hoped this wasn’t going to be the end of your career. You couldn’t tell him any of that. You were too scared. You felt so incredibly stupid for digging such a deep hole for yourself.

“Come on.” General Hux instructed and dragged you to your bunk. “Pack your things.”

No… you couldn’t really be fired, right? A shuttle wouldn’t get here for at least a day. He wouldn’t make you wait outside in the snow until it got there, would he? Looking up at his sea glass eyes it was clear he was serious. You turned slowly back to your bunk and began to collect your things. Satisfied you were doing as you were told, Hux disappeared from the room.

Belongings packed and in your arms, you left your quarters only to find everyone in the common area. If losing your job wasn’t enough, public humiliation was now the cherry on top. Noni gave you an empathetic smile but you didn’t have it in you to look anyone else in the eye.

“With me, L/N.” The General said, commanding you to follow. He had a small container of his own but there were no clues as to what was inside. You followed the General out of the base and away from your colleagues.

The General led you through the snow on a path that looked like it had been made by several pairs of boots trudging through it. The troopers must have come this way earlier. The path guided the two of you away from the base and towards the crag… sort of… you were heading more diagonally towards the mountain which gave you the impression you were going to be heading up it.

When you reached the bottom of the slope your suspicions were confirmed. The trooper tracks were trailing upward. You forced your body onward. Every step ached. Getting around the Supremacy was easy, you never had to go far to get anywhere and walking around was a breeze. Back on the Supremacy there were no snowy hills to climb and never had you even once had the top layer of your uniform and hair become frozen and brittle, though that felt like it was at least partially your fault for hiding in the shower. You’d dried your face off while packing your things and for that you were grateful because your nose felt so cold that you almost wished it would just fall off. You didn’t want to risk a lecture from the General for putting your possessions down so you could cover your face to get some relief.

By the time you reached your destination, you just wanted to collapse into the snow and wait for the next blizzard to bury you. On top of the crag stood a much smaller camp than the one you’d helped put together yesterday.

You followed the General inside. You took the opportunity to look around. It was just as small inside as it looked from the outside, it hadn’t been an illusion. There was a bed, the tiniest kitchenette you’d ever seen, a small work station with equipment stuffed underneath, and a door to what you were hoping was a refresher. It was cramped, but it could have been much worse.

You turned back to the General. He was still facing away from you, breathing into his gloved hands to warm his face. He seemed vaguely human in that moment.

“I’d been trying to figure out how to handle this position.” The General said turning towards you. “I was thinking of a rotating roster. Each of you taking your turns up here for several days each seemed the fairest. Luckily, the hardest worker in the First Order volunteered this morning. I had the troopers assemble it since you’d put in so much effort on the main base yesterday.”

General Hux brushed past you and exited the tiny building. You weren’t sure how he knew you’d slacked off yesterday, but you weren’t surprised, he did have a tendency to find things out.

“General…?” You called out as he began to make his way back to the others. He stopped but didn’t face you. “I’m sorry.”

It didn’t feel like apologising was enough, but it was a start. The General turned. He looked at you with an intense glare but no discernible emotion.

“I’ll be back randomly a few times to make sure you’re actually working. This isn’t a holiday.” Hux said.

“…Studying the fauna?” You asked.

“Indeed.”

“… But there isn’t…” You trailed off.

The General didn’t seem interested in excuses, no matter how valid. This whole thing was a dummy mission and this was the most pointless part of it. General Hux had sentenced you to almost 30 cycles of pure boredom.

He left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're beginning to settle into a schedule during your solitude

You finally had a use for your overly expensive blanket. The heat inside your small camp was still well regulated, not as immune to the elements as the main camp was, but it was still a comfortable temperature. The blanket was still too much to sleep with, instead it made for the perfect cape as you gazed out on the horizon in your pyjamas.

There was no point in dressing, really. There was no one to witness your uniform infractions so when you did leave the tiny base, you just pulled your boots on and wrapped the blanket around your shoulders.

You were running out of things to do dangerously quickly. Yesterday you set up your equipment and unpacked your rations. You’d spent most of the morning shuffling through the snow in a big circle around the camp out of pure boredom. Now you stood as close to the edge of the crag as you dared and surveyed the land beneath you. Flicking your blanket cape dramatically, you felt like a mad scientist/nefarious snow queen hybrid.

The next 28 cycles were going to drag on and you were sure you’d lose your mind before long. If only you had a comm so you could talk to the team when they weren’t working. Actually, thinking about it, it definitely felt dangerous for you to not have any means to communicate. What if something went wrong? That was something you’d bring up with the General whenever he was due back next.

After a couple nights in your isolation and with several days’ worth of rations left, you hadn’t expected to be awoken from your nap on the roof by an angry voice that wasn’t your own.

“-for kriffs sake! Why isn’t she at her post?” The General grumbled storming out of the building you were lying on.

“General?” You called down in disbelief, whipping off the blanket that had been hiding you from both the sun and the cold.

 “L/N?” He asked in disbelief. He was clearly startled by your sudden appearance. “Get… Get down from there!”

General Hux regained his composure and you slid down carefully to meet him, wrapping your blanket around your shoulders.

“Something wrong with your uniform, L/N, or do you think you’re just above the rest of us?” He asked scanning you up and down, very much unimpressed by your pyjamas.

“I mean, I am on a mountain, and you’re all down there… so yea-…“ you trailed off. The General didn’t seem to be in the mood for jokes. To be fair, it wasn’t even a good joke either, but you had a long time living in solitude ahead of you, with nothing to do except to work on better jokes.

General Hux pushed past you, completely ignoring your attempt at humour, and entered the base. After a moment you realised it made more sense for you to follow than wait outside, and so you did. The General was inspecting one of your monitors when you entered. There was no way you could get in trouble for not doing your job now. Entry after entry with complete details of when and where you hadn’t spotted any wildlife at all. It was as comprehensive and thorough and there would be no doubt that you’d been working hard doing nothing.

“Good to see you’re taking your job seriously again L/N.” He spoke so nonchalantly but you were happy to have gained a small amount of approval. Again, he nudged past you to get back outside. This time you followed immediately.

“General…?” You began. You wanted to propose the idea of you receiving a comm but the General cut you off.

“L/N… what were you doing on the roof?” The General asked.

You were slightly taken aback because it seemed obvious to you, but then you realised he’d only seen you relaxing up there during a break, not doing your work.

“It’s easier to see in every direction from up there. Instead of travelling around the camp I can just sit up there and log it in my datapad and transfer that to the terminal inside, you know, instead of running around in circles all day.” You explained.

Now that you’d said it out loud, you realised you were doing things the lazy way and braced yourself to be told off for slacking again. The scolding never came.

“Well, just be careful. Make sure you only move on the support beams. I don’t want you damaging the structure or hurting yourself.” The General said. He picked up a container that he’d left in the snow before he’d discovered where you’d been, and dumped it in your arms. “And I want you in your uniform next time.”

You gave him a nod and he turned to head down the slope and back to the main camp. Then you realised you hadn’t managed to ask him your question.

“General?” You asked again. He turned back to face you and you took it as your cue to continue. “I was wondering if I could have a comm.”

The look on his face said _‘No, how dare you even ask. You’re not here to have fun!’_ though you could have been reading too far into it. It definitely wasn’t a look that said _‘Oh sure, that’s actually a smart idea. Why didn’t I think of that?’_

“…In case of emergencies, General.” You assured him. “I mean, I’m out here, alone, what if the wildlife I’m up here _crucially_ studying is _dangerous_?”

You were unsure what caused it, whether it was making fun of the pointlessness of the mission or the thought of you in danger, but you could have sworn the corners of the General’s mouth twitched upward ever so slightly for the briefest moment.

“I’ll consider it.” He said ending his visit and began the trek back to the main camp. The General didn’t sound as dismissive as usual. Maybe there was hope.

 

* * *

 

 

You’d spent the last half hour staring to the west, you logged the lack of wildlife in that direction and turned your focus to the north. You took a large bite of the protein bar you’d brought up to the roof with you. For a moment you began to think about how it’d be a lot more effective to get out there instead of observing from your camp, but then you came back to reality and remembered it was all pointless anyway.

“Doctor?” Called a voice from behind you. What was he doing back here already? It was only yesterday that the General had been here, you had assumed he wouldn’t be back until it was time to top up your rations again. Keeping a firm grip on both your lunch and your blanket, you slid down from your perch to greet him.

“I thought I spoke to you about your uniform, L/N.” The General said with a tone of disappointment upon seeing you in pyjamas again. You went to open your mouth to speak but stopped, realising how rude it would be to speak to him with your mouth full. Instead, you tried to hide your chewed food in your cheeks. “I’m going to need you to swallow…”

It had been a snap decision and it made sense that the time, but now your cheeks were growing warm thinking about how stupid you must have looked. The General carried himself with dignity at all times and that just made it worse. You must have looked like a toddler trying to feed yourself for the first time. Normally, you weren’t like this. I had to be the mission. Something about it was messing you up and all you could do was make a fool of yourself.

“Sorry, General,” you said after gulping down the mush that used to be part of the protein bar. “I just didn’t expect you to be here so soon.”

“That’s not an excuse, L/N. Do you know why uniforms are important?” The General asked.

“They look good?” You said, hoping it was the right answer but knowing it really wasn’t.

“A small part of it.” He said stepping closer. “Wearing your uniform will keep you warm without having to lug around your cumbersome blanket. It’ll also help to identify your body in the event that you’re attacked by the dangerous wildlife out here.”

A subtle smirk appeared on the General’s face which confirmed yesterday’s suspicions; the brief flicker of a smile from the previous day had to be from the notion of you getting hurt. It was too early for alarm bells to be ringing. Perhaps the General just had a slightly twisted sense of humour. Then again, you’d been the first to joke about it yesterday. On the other hand, you were up here, alone, without witnesses. In any case, the General was smiling at you and it would be rude to not return it.

“I believe you requested this.” He said pulling a comm from one of his pockets. “It’s only programmed to reach mine. Remember, you’re not here for fun, this is still a punishment. The comm is not for gossip. Emergency use only.”

You got the impression that the General thought you were a bit simple. To be fair, you hadn’t been on top of your game lately, but there was no way you were going to chastise your superior for being a little rude.

“Thank you, General. This’ll give me a little more peace of mind now.” You said. “I’ll let you know if I’m under attack from invisible wampas… I feel safer already.”

“Oh, speaking of. I feel like it might be important to let you know the weather might get a little severe. The rest of your team have actually noticed something off about the atmospheric conditions.” He replied, his eyebrows rising as though this news was nearly noteworthy. You gave him a look as if to say _‘that’s actually almost interesting.’_

“Good thing I have this then.” You said waggling the comm between your fingers. “You can let me know if I need to get to cover and hunker down.”

You beamed up at General Hux before realising how informal you were being. You shrank yourself to hopefully show that being disrespectful hadn’t been your intent. You wanted to get back on his good side so you could have a spot on the shuttle that would eventually take you far away from this moon, not end up mysteriously disappearing.

The General took another step towards you. Surely it was too soon for him to be murdering you, right? The untrustworthy muted smirk made you a little worried. He made you even more anxious as his hands reached toward you. He was already in your personal space but his hands were steadily invading and would soon make contact. Nervously you looked up to meet his eyes.

There was something so familiar about them, you just couldn’t place it. The General’s eyes really were mesmerising and you could feel yourself getting lost in them. You snapped back to reality as soon as you felt his hands on you.

“You’d better get into your uniform now. It’s too cold for this.” The General said, pulling your blanket tighter around you. You hadn’t noticed it had fallen down your shoulders. Now you were snug as a bug, but nodded in a promise to get changed once he left. “And remember that comm is for emergencies only. You can go back to your lunch now. Sorry to disturb you, Doctor.”

You stood there silently as he left. Looking at your barely eaten protein bar, you hoped that the butterflies in your stomach were a result of you feeling hungry and nothing more. That’d be inconvenient. He couldn’t have had a very positive impression of you, but then, he had referred to you by your title a few times, instead of calling you by your surname which made you feel like you were in serious trouble.

You took a small bite of your lunch and watched the General disappear down the crest. Carefully, you grabbed your blanket with your protein bar hand, and once you could no longer see him you brought the comm to your face.

“Thanks for the comm, General.” You spoke into the small device.

“Emergencies only, L/N.” He replied.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only so many things you can get up to when left to your own devices.

The General would be pleased that you hadn’t been hassling him with your comm. It had been three days since he’d given it to you and you hadn’t bothered him in all that time, this may have been largely due to the fact you’d lost it two days ago. No matter, you had plenty of time to find it before you were heading back to the fleet.

Sick of staring at the blinding white of the snow, you no longer spent your time atop the roof of the base. What was the point? There was nothing anywhere, and that wasn’t going to change. You kept up the data entry, keeping up the logs to confirm there was nothing out there, but now you did it without checking to be sure. It freed up a lot of time, which unfortunately, was not something you were short of.

Without a source of entertainment, you had to get creative with your time-wasting activities. Day dreaming took up most of your time, occasionally you’d head outside and draw in the snow or create sculptures, though they had to be small and hidden around the back of the base, you doubted the General would be impressed you were spending your time this way. You timed yourself to see how fast you could climb the base; seven seconds was currently the time to beat. When you were really desperate for something to do, you organised your rations. It was becoming a shorter task after every meal, after all, a girl’s gotta eat.

All of these tasks were accompanied by one thing you could have done without. It’s mere existence somehow felt like it was making time slow down. You couldn’t stop it not matter how hard you tried but you were useless to resist it.

There was a song stuck in your head. You’d heard it the last time you were on leave and after a few drinks you loved it. Now you were hounded by it. Just when you thought you were safe it would invade your brain again. It was the first thing to pop into your head when you woke up and the last thing keeping you from being able to fall asleep at night. You were going mad but nothing could purge the melody from your head. There was barely a moment in the last few days that you hadn’t been humming or singing it. You tried replacing the song with several others but this one was firmly wedged in there.

Your gloves were still drying from making your snow creations that morning so you were stuck inside. It was still too early to go to bed, today’s log was up to date, and you’d even spent some time getting a little exercise in. You were out of options. The day seemed to be progressing at a snail’s pace and you had nothing left to do to distract yourself.

You flopped backward onto your bed, your back colliding with the wall heavier than you’d anticipated forcing from your mouth a soft _‘oof!’_. One by one, you brought each foot up closer to your curled body to undo your boots and threw them to where you’d usually kept them by the door. It was more of a workout for your core than you’d expected which you attributed to being tired from the small amount exercise you’d done earlier, and definitely not because you just weren’t as fit as you’d have liked.

Shuffling so you were a little more upright, you brought your feet up so only your toes hung over the edge. A deep sigh broke from within you as your fingers traced shapes around your knees. This kind of punishment wasn’t fair. At this point you’d rather be stuck with your least favourite person. Sure, that’d still suck but at least you’d be less bored. As it was, you only had the General’s infrequent visits to look forward to and restore your sanity.

Your fingers trailed absently down your thighs. Maybe there was a way to get General Hux to stay for a little longer during his visits. Knees separating, your fingers had more space to roam. There was a chance he’d stay longer, it seemed a little like he was warming up to you, though it was probably more likely that you were warming up to him. That subtle smirk of his did something to you, and even thinking about it made your stomach uneasy. The unsettling feeling in your belly made you aware of the other things you were feeling, specifically how softly you tickled your thighs through your pants and how nice it actually felt.

Away missions always meant no privacy so you’d already come to terms with the fact you weren’t going to get a little _‘alone time’_ to yourself, but the truth was you couldn’t be more alone. Sometimes there’d be someone who tried to get a sneaky one out while everyone was asleep in their bunks. It was never as discreet as they’d assumed but it was common courtesy to pretend you hadn’t noticed. You didn’t have to worry about that now.

Your biggest risk was the General showing up and the more you’d thought about him, the less it worried you. There was no denying it, he was handsome, and he’d already seen some percentage of your body. The embarrassment you’d felt in that moment flooded back to you, churning your stomach. Okay, so maybe you didn’t really want to get caught, at least not until you were on better terms with him. Still, there was nothing better to do, and the General would probably let himself be known before just barging in, you assumed.

You pushed yourself up onto your feet, your shoulders against the wall so you could lift your arse up enough that you could work your trousers down. You peeled them down your legs, letting them sit at your ankles. Slightly worried that General Hux would show up at the worst possible time (or best, you were still deciding), you made sure you’d be able to redress as quickly as you could. Hux had told you off enough for not wearing your uniform as it was.

Despite being alone, your new surroundings had you feeling a little uncomfortable and self-conscious as your hands slowly made their way south. You exhaled loudly; you were alone. This may have been the first time you were properly alone now that you thought about it. You had privacy on the Supremacy in your own quarters, but even there you could hear your neighbours talking if they were loud enough. There was no one to overhear you now. You knew there were no cameras monitoring you either. You were completely safe from witnesses.

Burying your nerves deep within you, you let your fingers explore. It wasn’t much of a surprise to you that you weren’t exactly _warmed up_ enough as you were mostly doing this to banish your boredom. Closing your eyes, you conjured up the image of the General in your mind, hoping it wouldn’t summon him to your door. A crush on Hux was the last thing you wanted. Developing feelings for your General would bring so many complications but you couldn’t help that his was the image you wanted to daydream of in this moment.

_The General’s hand pressed into the small of your back, the other buried into your hair guiding your head to the side. His lips pressed heavily against your neck, dragging kisses up your jaw and clashing heavily against your mouth._

You bit down on your lip trying to imagine how soft his lips would be. Your hands teased across your clothed breasts and the sensitive skin on your hips.

_Pulling your shirt open, the General exposed you to himself and made quick work of worshipping your breasts. He pushed you back against your work table in the lab separating your lips from his for just a moment but was back to kissing you in an instant._

Your hand slid south, pulses of pleasure spreading through you as your fingertips began to draw circles around your clit. You let out a soft sigh, remembered you had nothing to be afraid of, and moaned a little louder as you pressed more firmly down on your button.

_The two of you hastily grabbed at each other’s clothes to discard them. Your hand found the General’s hardening cock, wrapped your fingers around it and drew him in closer. Hux curled his hands around the back of your thighs guiding you up onto the desk. Your legs parted. He lined himself up and pushed past your entrance. You gasped._

You gasped as your fingers slid inside you. The cool air circulating through the base softly prickled at your skin while your digits writhed in and out. Alternating between working your nub and delving inside to your g-spot, your breathing grew heavy.

_Your legs wrapped around his waist, the General grasped needily at your bare flesh. Buried deep within you, his thrusts brought you pure bliss. You weren’t far off and judging by his accelerating movements neither was he._

You added a second hand, one to penetrate, the other working your clit. You were reaching your end faster than you’d anticipated and this would only get you there faster. This was just supposed to be something that killed some time and now you were speeding to the end.

_The General’s hips stuttered, his face stressed and intense as he spilled inside of you. Following Hux’s lead, your growing pleasure reached its pinnacle, fire spreading through you. Your legs, which had once held the General so close to you, grew weak and fell to his sides dangling off the desk. His forehead pushed against yours giving you a close-up view of that damn smirk._

With an unrestrained cry, you joined your imaginary self. You fought against your thighs as they tried to clench shut. You weren’t going to let that happen, reluctant to return to reality, you didn’t quit until you’d made it all the way through your orgasm.

After taking a moment to recover, you hiked your pants back up and checked the time. You hadn’t killed as much time as you’d hoped. Why did there have to be so many hours in a day?

 

* * *

 

 

You slept well that night despite getting up a few times to check to make sure the door was properly closed. Eventually you concluded that it was just a colder night than usual, and not an unwelcome breeze invading the base. Waking up, you refused to get out of bed immediately, it was way too cold for that, and besides, getting out of bed would mean admitting the day had started and you’d have another dull day of nothing to do. The General would probably show up later in the day since you were getting low on food again, but even if he left the main base now, it’d take him a while to get to you. Nope, bed was definitely the way to go, and after realising you had a new activity to relieve boredom, you decided there was no harm in keeping the General in mind while you did it again.

 

* * *

 

 

“L/N?” Called a voice that sounded like it was coming from the front of the base. You dropped the handful of snow you were about to add to the work in progress miniature Starkiller Base you were building and jogged to the voice’s location.

Although he hadn’t been looking in your direction when you got to him, the General’s ginger hair was unmistakeable. It was probably because you’d seen nothing but snow for the last forever, but you couldn’t help but think it looked even more vibrant today. He didn’t look at you when you greeted him, he just unloaded your new rations into your arms and went inside. For a moment you worried the General had caught the Force from the Supreme leader, that he somehow knew what you’d been up to and who you’d had in mind, but the Force wasn’t contagious so you shooed the notion away. It was far more likely that it was just a mixture of the infamous stick up his butt, him not liking you very much, and just a little paranoia.

“This looks like more than last time… a lot more.” You stated after joining the General inside and realising you had about 3 times the amount of food as he’d brought last time. “…So you have to make fewer trips up?”

You smiled trying to hide the fear you beginning to feel at the thought of even more time spent alone. Hux didn’t return the smile. There wasn’t even a smirk. He hummed as if to confirm that was the case and turned his attention back to the data you’d been collecting.

“Oh!  Uh… no… well, yes, but not like that… I mean…” The General struggled through his words. He stared intently at your rations, seemingly trying to wrangle his thoughts together and tapped on the box in your arms. “Nasty weather ahead. The team at the main base are starting to believe it’ll be a lot worse than they’d first thought. It may be too severe for anyone to make the journey up here.”

While you weren’t a fan of the possibility you’d be left alone again, there was a glimmer of hope that you might be able to return back to the realm of the living. If the weather was about to get too dangerous, surely it would be better for you to be with everyone else.

General Hux turned back to the data you’d collected and you began to pack away your food. Trying to figure out just how to ask if you could join the group again you heard a humming from the General. You’d barely noticed the humming at first, but just the sound brought up a rage inside you that you didn’t understand. That was, until you started to pay attention. It was that damn song again! There was no escaping it!

“Ugh! That song’s been in my head for days now too!” You told the General. He turned to you but seemed to be looking through you. It didn’t appear as though this common ground that you shared would lead to a bonding experience that could help you convince the General to end your punishment during the storm. The datalogs quickly pulled his attention again.

You sighed and joined the General at his side. Not too close. However much he seemed to tolerate you during his last visit, he was now almost as cold as the temperature outside.

“If there’s a storm coming, and it’s got the others worried, wouldn’t it be safer if I went back with you, General?” You asked cautiously. Failing to acknowledge you, he continued concentrating on the monitor. “It’s just, my team, I’ve worked with them before, well, most of them. They’re all brilliant at what they do and if they’re worried about the storm, I think it’s probably safer. You can banish me back up here afterward.”

Something about what you’d said didn’t sit well with the General. Suddenly he’d lost interest in the data he’d been so engrossed in. He moved toward you in an almost predatory manner and loomed over you.

“Well, I’m thankful you’ve given me permission, L/N. Regardless, you will remain here.” General Hux stormed over to the door and gave the room a quick look over. “I won’t be swayed by a child with a problem with authority. You’re a scientist and a professional. Act like it. If you’re anxious about the storm, keep your comm on you.”

The General didn’t give you another thought as he charged out of the base. That hadn’t gone well. You didn’t mean to sound as though you were ordering Hux around but he was harsh, and it stung. After you waited enough time to make sure the General would be long gone, you ventured outside. The cool air felt soothing on your embarrassment-tinged cheeks as you wandered around to the back of the base and dejectedly put your boot through your Starkiller Base.

 


End file.
